1. Field of Invention
This invention generally relates to systems and methods for determining a printhead in a printing position.
2. Description of Related Art
A typical imaging apparatus, such as an ink-jet printer or a thermal printer, forms an image onto a recording medium, such as paper or film, by causing ink or the like to be deposited onto the recording medium. For example, an ink-jet printer performs printing by discharging ink through a printhead having nozzle(s) with an orifice and an electrothermal transducer which generates discharge energy for discharging ink from the orifice to form a pattern of ink dots on the recording medium. The printhead discharges the ink along a track by moving back and forth. Many printheads must also move toward and away from a printer's surface. However, the movement of the printhead may get trapped, jammed or wedged along the way. For example, in certain solid ink printing, the printhead is moved between printing, wiping and standby positions. If the printhead is not properly positioned, ink may be misdirected.
Thus, in the past, a separate sensor was required to determine the position of the printhead so that the ink could be properly ejected onto the recording medium.
For example, conventional printers use an optical sensor to ensure proper positioning of the printhead. However, separate sensors require numerous cablings and connectors to operate. Further, many printers typically have more than one sensor to determine positioning of the printhead, especially apparatus with color inks. Thus, the use of sensors becomes expensive, which drives the cost of manufacturing up. Moreover, because of the need for cables and connectors to operate the sensors, printing apparatus become large and bulky.